By Colt Langley/sports editor

With first place up for grabs in South Campus intramural basketball March 23, Team 3 did not play to its full potential.

In the first game, Team 5 defeated Team 3, 63-61. The win put Team 5 in first place for South Campus’ league.

Chris McDonald of Team 5 said he is excited his team is on top of the standings.

“We’re champions, and we’re number one. They [Team 3] played good and kept us at a close game,” McDonald said. “First, we played sucky, but a good team always comes back all the way.”

Darnell Dickerson of Team 5 said he thought Team 3 would play harder.

“I feel awesome, like a champion,” he said. “They [Team 3] played good, but I thought they would have been better than that.”

Team 3’s captain Lee Calton said the loss might benefit the team.

“I don’t even know what to say. I’m just trying to keep my mind off the game right now. But we needed a loss because that’s the only way we’re going to play hard,” Calton said.

Rob Lewis of Team 3 said Team 5’s defense was hard to penetrate.

“They had the upper hand. Everything was going right for them. Our shots were off, and we couldn’t get nothing going through their 2-3 zone defense,” Lewis said.

Nathan Navarro of Team 5 said his team hoped to face Team 3 again in the South championship game. The semifinals and final were to be played March 30.

“It was a hard-fought game. They were really good. We’ll probably meet them again in the championship game, and we’ll be ready and so will they,” Navarro said.

In the second game, Team 6 defeated Team 1, 56-46.

Johnny Elliott of Team 1 said even though his team lost, he felt his team played well overall.

“This game was better than the others we’ve had because we had better teamwork,” Elliott said. “I don’t think they were playing too hard. That’s why they played worse because everyone tried to be the team.”

Team 6’s Denzel Jones said his team was not at its best.

“We played sloppy but still came out with the victory. They put up a good fight at the end. They started hitting buckets and played defense, but we prevailed at the end,” Jones said.

Jones’ teammate Andre Robinson said though his team has had some losses, they are determined to win at the end of the season.

“We came from some depressing losses and ended up at the bottom,” he said. “But we’re going to try in the end, and we’re going to be triumphant.”

Charles Castleberry of Team 6 said the game was “more of a practice run for the playoffs.”

In the last game, Team 4 beat Team 7, 65-63, in overtime. This game was the closest and most competitive game of the season.

Milan Rasevic of Team 7 was thrown out of the game after getting two technical fouls. Both of his fouls were for questioning the referee’s calls, but what made them stand out was his cursing. The ejection cut him out of playing in his team’s next game.

“The first tech foul I shouldn’t have questioned the call,” Rasevic said. “But in the second one, I thought the ball was out on the other team, and they knew it. So I asked the ref if he was sure it was out on us, and that’s when he threw me out of the game.”

When asked about not being able to play in his team’s next game, Rasevic said he feels he has let his team down.

“Personally, I don’t feel bad for myself, but I do for my teammates. They depend on me a lot,” he said.

Rasevic’s teammate Melvin Green said his team could have won if it wasn’t for a few mishaps.

“I think we played good for only having four people, and I think if we would have kept our composure in the game, then we would have won,” Green said. “They [Team 7] played good by using their advantage well, which is their speed. They also hit the shots when it counted.”

Kendrick Speed of Team 7 said his team is happy to take the win.

“We won a hard game by two at the buzzer, and they only had four guys,” Speed said. “Hopefully, we’ll be making some noise in the championship.”